Rail or tram way rail joint.



No. 64!,008. v Patented Ian. 9, I900. H. F. GULLAN. RAIL 0B TBAMWAY BAILJOINT.

(Application filed. July 6, 1898.)

(No Model.)

//// V lltll1 i (No modem RAIL 0R TRAMWAY RAIL JOINT.

(Application filed July 8, 1898.)

2 Sheetw-Shect 2 O\ o RQ a; L

@j M/V Q mg a WITNESSES:

, INVENTOR ub/1 di /lam,

, BY lJA40|7 ATTORNEY mn STATES PATENT OFFICE.

nEcToR FREEMAN eULLnN, or HOYLAKE, ENGLAND;

RAILoR TRAM wAv RAI'L' Jomf.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 641,008, dated January9, 1900. Application filed July 6,1898. Serial No. 685,238. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HECTOR FREEMAN GUL- LAN, a subject of the Queen ofGreat Britain, residing at Hoylake, in the county of Chester, England,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway Rails andJoints, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the class of scarf or lap joints inrailway-rails wherein the joint is produced by cutting or forming thetwo rails so that the joint between the two lateral faces of theoverlapping rails extends obliquely across the crown of the rail.

The object of the present invention is to employ this oblique form ofscarf-jointin such a way as to insure that the rail will be as strong atthe joint as at any other part without the joint havin gan unduethickness likely to cause the securing-bolts to be exposed to injury andwithout cutting away or thinning the web too much in forming the bevelfor the splice. For this purpose the web toward the end of the rail isobliquely deflected laterally and is cut away or thinned only slightlyin forming a bevel for the splice, this part being also formed with anoffset to insure strength in the part and also for engagement with thechair or key, while the web from said offset to the extremity is reduceda little in thickness to prevent undue thickness of the joint.

The accompanying drawings illustrate an embodiment of the invention.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of therails at the joint.Fig. 2 is a plan of the same. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section along theline of the bolts. Fig. 4 is a plan, on a smaller scale, showing twojoints in the rails. Fig. 5 is a transverse section at line 00 in Figs.1 and 2. Fig. 6 is a transverse section at line 00 in Figs. 1 and 2.

In'the drawings, A A represent two I-rails constructed at their adjacentends to form a joint with a lap-splice, they being supported in a chairB at the splice. O is the key between the chair and the rail. Each railA has a head a, a foot a, and a web a and the ends of the rail are soformed as to adapt them for forming the splice-joint. In Fig. a both therail is seen in plan the vertical plane of the joint 03' extendsobliquely across the rail, that the securing-bolts D pass throughslotted holes in the webs of the overlapping rails, that the portions aof the webs that overlap at the joint are deflected laterally and ob=liquely, so that they may not be cut away or thinned too much in formingthe bevel for the splice, that the outer faces of the twooverlappingwebs a at the chair B or middle portion of the joint areparallel, that there is an offset a in the outer face of each web, fromwhich offset to the extremity of the rail the web is thinner than in themain part, and that at every point along the length of the lap-splicethe thickness of the two lapped webs is greater than the thickness ofthe normal web 0. This imparts strength to the rail at the splice and isdue to the lateral deflection of the lapped parts of the webs of therails.

To form the ends of the rails as shown, they may be passed throughproperly-shaped roller-dies while hot. Preferably there will be formed aslight trough-like hollow or channel in the applied faces of the webs aas seen at y, Figs. 5 and 6, so as to permit the heads and bases of therails to come together snugly and to reduce the friction between the surfaces in contact when they move on each other in expanding andcontracting, and the crowns of the rails at their extreme ends may beslightly cut away or rounded off, as seen at z, to guard against thisthinned extremity projecting upward above the level of the adjacentrail. l

I prefer not to employ fish-plates at the joint; but it is obvious thatthey may be used, if desired. Preferably the splice will be supported ina chair; but it may be situated be tween chairs.

My construction obviously permits the use of a relatively thin web.

Having thus described my invention, I claim- 1. In a railway-railadapted to form a lapped or scarf rail-joint between adjaoentrails, thecombination of a head and base having their flanges at the end portioncut away obliquely at one side, a vertical web having its end portiondeflected laterally to the other side and an offset a on the outer faceof the web to inbelow the normal level and its'fla'nge at the Iend'portion cut away obliquely atone side,-

sure strength and for engagement with the chair or key, the web fromsaid offset'to the extremity being reduced at little in thicknesssubstantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. A railway-rail adapted to form a scarf rail-joint between adjacentrails, said rail having a head, base and vertical web, the

the joint and having formed in its inner'or jointing face atrough-likec'hannel'o'r hollow y, which forms a reduction in thethickness of the web, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

In a railWay-railadapted to form a lapped or scarf rail-joint betweenadjacent rails, the combination of a head having its crown at theextremity a slightly rounded orcut away a base having its flangesimilarlycut away obliquely to one side, a vertical web having its endportion deflected laterally to the other side, an offset a on the outerface of the web to insure strength andfor engagement with the chair orkey, the web from said offset to the extremity being reduced a little inthickness, and a trough-like hollow or channel y in the inneror-jointing' face of the web, substantially as hereinbefore described.

4. A'railway-rail having an I cross-section and having at its endportion which is destined to form the scarf-joint between the rails,constructed asfollows, namely: the flanges of the head and'base extendstraight to the end of therail at the outside and at the front are cutaway obliquely at the inside, and the web is deflected outwardly at thejoint and also cut away obliquely on the inside, substantially as setforth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signedmy name, this 22d day of June,1898,

in the presence of two subscribing-witnesses.

HECTOR FREEMAN GULLAN; Witnesses:

G. O. DYMOND, W'. H; BEEsToN.

